Big interest in new Arctic LNG: Novatek

A picture taken on April 16, 2015 shows a general view of the port of Sabetta in the Kara Sea shore line on the Yamal Peninsula in the Arctic circle, some 2450 km from Moscow. The Yamal LNG project aims to extract and liquefy gas from the Yuzhno-Tambeyskoye gas field. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images)

«We have positive signals from Total and CNPC», says Leonid Mikhelson.

Speaking at last week’s Saint Petersburg Economic Forum, Novatek leader Mikhelson confirmed that the partners in the Yamal LNG project; Total, CNPC and Silk Fund, show interest also in the development of the projected Arctic LNG.

Also the companies are interested, he underlined, newspaper Vedomosti reports.

According to the company leader, a technological concept for the project is due to be completed in the course of 2016. «This will include LNG output capacity, licenses and equipment», he elaborated.

The capacity of the projected plant «could be six million tons of LNG per year», Michelson said. The first production phase project could be launched in year 2022, followed by a second and third phase in 2024 and 2015 respectively.

While the production from Yamal LNG is based on long-term supply contract with customers, the gas from the Arctic LNG will be sold on the spot market, Novatek says.

Future plans

The Arctic LNG plant will be based on resources from the Gydan Peninsula, and first of all the Salmanovskoye and Geofizicheskoye fields, both located on the eastern bank of the Ob Bay. The total resources of the fields amount to about 380 billion cubic meters, the company informs on its website.

In addition to South Tambey, Salmanovskoye and Geofizicheskoye fields, Novatek controls several other major resources in the area. Among them are the East-Tambey and North-Ob fields, both of them located offshore in the Ob Bay, and believed to hold up to 1,8 trillion cubic meters of gas.

In 2014, Novatek established a subsidiary named the Arctic LNG-1. That entity the same year won the license to the Tryekhbugornoye field, a deposit with resources exceeding 1 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, Novatek informs.

New construction

As previously reported, the new Arctic LNG plant in Gydan could be based on a floating solution designed for the shallow waters of the Ob Bay. The Russians are reportedly also in contact with Norwegian engineering company Kværner about the project.

A part of the expanded LNG plans in the Arctic is the construction of the Kolskaya Verf («Kola Yard») in Murmansk, a construction yard for LNG modules. The new yard will cost $500 million, Novatek representatives say.